Why Videos Aren't Shown in Xiaomi Gallery and How to Fix It

Did you shoot an important video on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 or POCO X5 Pro, but it suddenly disappeared from the gallery? Or does the gallery show thumbnails but gives an error when it opens? This problem is familiar to many users of Xiaomi smartphones — regardless of the model and version of MIUI. In 80% of cases, it is not hardware failures that are to blame, but software settings or features of the file system.

In this article, we’ll look at 10 real reasons why videos might not show up in the standard Xiaomi gallery, from simple scanning errors to hidden system folders, how to recover lost files without resetting, why some video formats (such as.mov or.mkv) are ignored by the gallery, and what to do if a problem appeared after the MIUI 14 update.

1.The video is hidden in MIUI system folders

Xiaomi smartphones automatically sort media files by folder depending on the source. For example, videos from WhatsApp get to /WhatsApp/Media, and screencasts get to /Movies/ScreenRecords. If the gallery doesn't show files, check first:

• 📁 folder /DCIM/Camera — Here are the videos taken with a standard camera.
• 🎬 folder /Movies — Here are downloaded movies and screencasts.
• 🔍 folder /MIUI/ScreenRecorder — If you recorded the screen through the built-in function.
• 📱 Messenger folders: /Telegram/Telegram Video, /WhatsApp/Media.

To see hidden folders, use any file manager (such as Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer) and enable the display of hidden files in the settings. In MIUI 14, the path to hidden folders may be different - check the Storage section in the phone's settings.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete folders with the names.nomedia or.thumbnails – they are responsible for the thumbnail cache and can cause gallery crashes.

2.The.nomedia file blocks the video display

A.nomedia file is an invisible marker that prevents a gallery from scanning a folder, and it is often created automatically when you install some applications (like Viber or Snapchat) or when you transfer files from your PC, and if you have one in the video folder, the gallery will ignore all the media inside.

How to check and eliminate:

1. Open the file manager and go to the folder where the video should be.
2. Enable the display of hidden files (in Mi File Manager: ⋮ → Settings → Show hidden files).
3. Delete the.nomedia file if you have one.
4. Restart your phone or manually update the gallery (pull the screen down in the Gallery app).

If the file reappears after the reboot, it is created by one of the installed applications. To find the culprit, check the messenger folders or temporary directories (/Android/data/).

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To avoid.nomedia problems, create a separate folder for important videos (e.g. /Videos/MyClips) and never save files from messengers there.

3. Unsupported video or codec format

The standard MIUI gallery does not support all existing video formats, for example,.mkv,.flv or.avi files with rare codecs may not be displayed or playable without sound.

If your video is in an unsupported format, there are two options:

1. Install a third-party player (such as VLC or MX Player) that supports all codecs.
2. Convert your video to.mp4 using HandBrake or online services (such as CloudConvert).

4. Failure of gallery or media scanner cache

The MIUI gallery uses the cache and database to quickly display thumbnails, and if that data is corrupted, the videos may disappear from the list, even though they are physically left on the phone, and signs of a problem:

• 🖼️ Miniatures are displayed, but when you click the video does not open.
• 🔄 Gallery 'hangs' when scrolling.
• 📥 After a reboot, files temporarily appear, then disappear again.

To reset the cache and media base:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Gallery and select the Warehouse.
3. Click Clear Cache and Clear Data (Warning: This Will Delete Albums and Sort Settings!).
4. Restart your phone and wait 5-10 minutes, the system will rescan the media files.

If the problem persists, try manually running the media scanner through ADB:

adb shell am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MEDIA_SCANNER_SCAN_FILE -d file:///sdcard/

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Cleaning the gallery cache doesn't delete the videos themselves, only temporary data to display them. If files are missing after this procedure, the problem is different (see section 5).

5.The video is deleted or damaged

If the video is not physically present on the phone (not even in the file manager), there are three possible scenarios:

1. Accidental Deletion – You or the app have deleted files.
2. Damage to the file system – for example, after extraction SD-card-writing.
3. Transfer error: files are not copied completely from the PC or cloud.

To recover deleted videos:

• 🔍 Use data recovery software: DiskDigger, Recuva (for PC) or Dumpster (dashboard application for Android).
• 📁 Check the folder. /MIUI/Backup/AllBackup — sometimes MIUI Creates backup copies of media.
• ☁️ If you have Google Photos or Mi Cloud enabled, check cloud storage.

⚠️ Warning: Do not write new files to your phone until you recover them! Every new file reduces the chances of returning deleted data.

If the video is damaged (not played or "teared"), try:

• 🛠️ Restore through VLC (Tools → Rebuilding multimedia).
• 💾 Copy a file on a PC and open it in PotPlayer – it often restores damaged fragments.

6.Problems with SD-card

If the video is stored on SD-The map and suddenly disappeared, the reasons may be as follows:

• 🔌 The card is disabled due to poor contact (check the connector!).
• 🛑 The file system of the card is corrupted (for example, after being extracted during the recording).
• 🔒 The card is formatted in exFAT or NTFS, which MIUI resistant.

How to diagnose and correct:

1. Extract. SD-You can put it in another phone or PC, and if you see the files, it's a problem with the smartphone.
2. Format the card in FAT32 (maximum 4GB per file) or exFAT (for files >4GB) via PC.
3. Check the card for errors using CHKDSK (in Windows: chkdsk E: /f, where E: is the letter of the card).

For internal memory:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Warehouse → Clean up and run the check.
• 🔧 If the phone says “Memory is damaged,” back up and reset (Settings) → Additionally. → Resetting settings).

Extract and paste back the card | Check in another device | Format in FAT32/exFAT | Run chkdsk on PC | Check contacts in the slot-->

7. Conflict with MIUI update or resetting settings

After updating MIUI 13→14 or resetting, many users are experiencing a video loss.

• 🔄 Change the folder structure in the new version MIUI.
• 📋 Resetting access rights to the gallery storage.
• 🗑️ Automatic cache cleanup that removes media links.

Decisions:

1. Update the gallery to the latest version via Play Market or App Store MIUI.
2. Go to Settings → Apps → Permissions → Storage and check that the gallery has access to files.
3. If the video is missing after reset, check the /MIUI/Backup/AllBackup/{date} folder - there may be backups.

MIUI 14.0.5+ has added Media Recovery, which automatically searches for lost files after updates. To run it, go to Settings → Storage → File Recovery.

8.The videos are hidden in a safe or secure folder

Xiaomi offers several tools to hide content:

• 🔒 safe MIUI — built-in storage with password (Settings) → Confidentiality → safe).
• 🕵️ Hidden albums in the gallery (long click on the album) → «Hide»).
• 📂 Protected folders in Google Photos (if you use this service).

How to find hidden videos:

1. Open the “Safe” in the settings and enter the password (by default – the pattern lock of the phone).
2. In the gallery, click. ⋮ → Settings → Showing Hidden Albums.
3. Check the /MIUI/Private folder in the file manager.

⚠️ Note: If you forget the password from the "Safe", you can restore access only through resetting your phone to factory settings (all data will be deleted!).

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Videos in the “Safe” MIUI are not displayed in the standard gallery – they can only be viewed through the “Safe” application itself.

FAQ: Frequent questions about missing videos in Xiaomi